Head to head · Boys' names
Alejandro vs Andres
#195 vs #200 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Alejandro is a whisker ahead (#195 vs #200 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Alejandro leads 4 measures of 6; Andres leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Alejandro #929, Andres #684 — Andres higher
- 1890s: Alejandro #1058, Andres #834 — Andres higher
- 1900s: Alejandro #996, Andres #706 — Andres higher
- 1910s: Alejandro #1273, Andres #749 — Andres higher
- 1920s: Alejandro #777, Andres #633 — Andres higher
- 1930s: Alejandro #691, Andres #632 — Andres higher
- 1940s: Alejandro #676, Andres #607 — Andres higher
- 1950s: Alejandro #567, Andres #580 — Alejandro higher
- 1960s: Alejandro #457, Andres #490 — Alejandro higher
- 1970s: Alejandro #241, Andres #359 — Alejandro higher
- 1980s: Alejandro #175, Andres #238 — Alejandro higher
- 1990s: Alejandro #106, Andres #170 — Alejandro higher
- 2000s: Alejandro #99, Andres #162 — Alejandro higher
- 2010s: Alejandro #167, Andres #209 — Alejandro higher
- 2020s: Alejandro #199, Andres #207 — Alejandro higher
Alejandro stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Alejandro has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alejandro | Andres |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #929 | #684 |
| 1890s | #1058 | #834 |
| 1900s | #996 | #706 |
| 1910s | #1273 | #749 |
| 1920s | #777 | #633 |
| 1930s | #691 | #632 |
| 1940s | #676 | #607 |
| 1950s | #567 | #580 |
| 1960s | #457 | #490 |
| 1970s | #241 | #359 |
| 1980s | #175 | #238 |
| 1990s | #106 | #170 |
| 2000s | #99 | #162 |
| 2010s | #167 | #209 |
| 2020s | #199 | #207 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alejandro
Defender of men
The Greek elements are a verb about defending and the word for men, and the reading is not disputed. Spanish arrived at its form by a regular sound change and the meaning traveled unchanged.
Alexandros → Alexander → Alejandro
How it traveled
A pope of this name, elected after a conclave that nobody has ever described as clean, had several acknowledged children, promoted them energetically, and in the year after Columbus returned issued the bulls that divided the newly encountered world between Spain and Portugal along a line drawn in the Atlantic. Portugal negotiated the line further west the following year, which is the reason Brazil speaks Portuguese.
Andres
manly, of a man
From the Greek Andreas, built on anēr, andros — 'man'.
Andreas → Andreas (Latin) → Andrés → Andres
How it traveled
The root is Greek: Andreas, from andros, 'of a man'. It was already a common Greek name when one of the twelve apostles in the New Testament bore it, and Christian missionaries carried it across Europe, where each language reshaped it — Andrew in English, André in French, Andrzej in Polish, Andrés in Spanish.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alejandro
ah-leh-HAN-droh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. The j is said in the throat, closer to an h than to anything English writes with a j.
- Alex — The front clipped, understood everywhere and unisex in English.
- Jandro — The back of the name, the usual Spanish shortening.
- Ale — Said AH-leh, the commonest Spanish short form.
Andres
ahn-DRESS
That is the Spanish stress, on the second syllable. In English-speaking settings many bearers accept AN-druss, with the weight up front. Both are in real use, and it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Andy — The most portable short form, shared with Andrew and Andrea; also used on its own as a given name.
- Andresito — Spanish diminutive, affectionate and family-level rather than public.
- Dre — Informal clipping heard mainly among younger speakers in the US.
- Nano — A familiar nickname used in parts of the Spanish-speaking world; household use only.
Who has carried each name
Alejandro
Alejandro González Iñárritu (b. 1963) — Won back-to-back Best Director Oscars
Andres
No documented entry for Andres yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alejandro if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAlejandro runs 4 syllables, Andres 2
- a newer arrivalAlejandro entered the US charts in 1885
Choose Andres if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAndres is 2 syllables to Alejandro's 4
- a long American recordAndres was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alejandro
Strengths
- The meaning is settled, strong and understood across the world.
- It has native forms in every European language.
- It carries several short forms with very different registers.
To consider
- English speakers will say the j as an English j, which is not how it is said.
- It is long, and a short form will do most of the work.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though the boys hold nearly all of it.
Andres
Strengths
- Recognized in dozens of languages through its close relatives — Andrew, André, Andreas — so it travels without translation.
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough to fit any form field.
- Comes with a ready-made short form in Andy, in continuous use for centuries.
To consider
- The Spanish spelling carries an accent: Andrés. Dropping it, as US records do, is entirely normal, but you may find yourself choosing between the two versions on documents, and family may restore it in speech.
- Two pronunciations circulate, ahn-DRESS and AN-druss, so your son will likely hear both and learn to answer to either.
- It sits close to Andrew, André and Andreas, and people who know one will sometimes reach for the wrong one on a first meeting.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alejandro and Andres in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Alejandro and Andres?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Alejandro and Andres — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alejandro or Andres — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alejandro or Andres?
- Alejandro, in 2025: Alejandro ranked #195 with 1,842 babies; Andres ranked #200 with 1,744 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alejandro or Andres?
- Andres. Over the last five years Alejandro moved up 17 places; Andres moved up 19 places.
- Which is the older name, Alejandro or Andres?
- Alejandro entered the US charts in 1885; Andres was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Andres is the older name.
- How many people are named Alejandro and Andres?
- About 140,000 people named Alejandro are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 90,500 people named Andres are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alejandros or Andress in the classroom?
- Alejandro will almost certainly be the only one in school. Andres will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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